Oscar Pistorius may have beaten his girlfriend with a cricket bat before shooting her, South African police believe.

Detectives are reported to have recovered a bloodied bat from the Paralympic champion’s bedroom and to have established that model Reeva Steenkamp’s skull had been ‘crushed’.

This and other evidence – a smashed bathroom door, a 9mm pistol, the peculiar pattern of wounds on the body and reports of a row earlier in the evening – is said to have led them to believe the murder case against the sprinter is ‘rock solid’.

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South African police are investigating whether Oscar Pistorius beat his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp unconscious with a cricket bat before shooting her after a bloodied bat was reportedly found at his home

Miss Steenkamp, 29, was shot four times early on Thursday at Pistorius’s luxury home in a secure housing estate on the outskirts of Pretoria.

Police have rubbished speculation that Pistorius – who is known to have kept a pistol by his bed and a machine gun at his bedroom window – may have mistaken his girlfriend of three months for an intruder.

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Prosecutors have formally charged Pistorius with premeditated murder but the Blade Runner’s family say he firmly denies such a charge.

Yesterday it emerged that he called his close friend Justin Divaris shortly after the killing – reportedly before the emergency services were alerted – and told him: ‘There has been a terrible accident, I shot Reeva.’

While no officials would comment publicly on the case, a disturbing – though disputed – picture of what may have happened in Pistorius’s home started to emerge.

Neighbours have said they heard shouting coming from the house at around 1.30am. There were some suggestions, quickly denied, that the row may have been about Miss Steenkamp’s friendship with a rugby player.

At around 3.20am, four shots rang out – apparently not all at once. The first person Pistorius called was his father Henke, 59.

Shock: Pistorius appears in court charged with premeditated murder, but says he killed his girlfriend accidentally after mistaking her for an intruder at his home

When he arrived, he allegedly saw his son carrying his nightie-clad girlfriend down the stairs.

She had been shot in the head, hip,
arm and hand. Pistorius – and later paramedics – struggled in vain to
save Miss Steenkamp’s life.

Police reportedly found the bloodied
cricket bat in the bedroom. The en-suite bathroom door was riddled with
holes, a pistol holster was found by Pistorius’s bed and a gun cartridge
was on the floor.

South Africa’s City Press quoted an
unnamed police source as saying: ‘The suspicion is that the first shot,
in the bedroom, hit her in the hip. She then ran and locked herself in
the toilet.

‘She was doubled over because of the
pain. He fired three more shots. She probably covered her head, which is
why the bullet also went through her hand.’

The source said police are carrying out tests to establish whose blood is on the bat.

While one scenario is that Pistorius
attacked Miss Steenkamp with the wooden bat, it has also been claimed
that the model may have used it to defend herself.

Rugby star Francois Hougaard's agent said the 'sad ordeal' was nothing to do with him in response to rumours that had circulated about the nature of the Springbok's friendship with Miss Steenkamp

A third possibility is that Pistorius
used it to break down the bathroom door. Those close to Pistorius have
suggested that he may done so in a bid to ‘save’ his dying girlfriend.

According to this theory, the athlete
first shot Miss Steenkamp by accident, whereupon she fled to the
bathroom. He then shot at the door lock to try to get in, accidentally
killing her.

Pistorius’s father appeared to suggest it is this version that he believes.

While he admitted that he had not
talked to his son in detail about what happened, he said he had ‘zero
doubt’ that the sportsman thought Miss Steenkamp was an intruder.

A more likely defence from Pistorius is to acknowledge that there was a row but that he did not intend to kill her.

Blade Runner: Oscar Pistorius ran in both the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics

Some in South Africa have speculated
about the nature of Miss Steenkamp’s friendship with Springbok rugby
player Francois Hougaard, and whether this played a part in the tragedy.

The 24-year-old was keen to distance
himself from such reports at the weekend. His agent said: ‘This whole
sad ordeal has got nothing to do with him.’

Last night Pistorius’s agent said he had withdrawn him from all planned races but insisted his sponsors were sticking by him.

The tragedy has also cast fresh light on Pistorius’s apparent attraction to danger and weaponry.

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Miss Steenkamp's father Barry wept as he said he and his wife June were at 'a complete loss'

As well as owning a pistol and
machine gun, at the time of Miss Steenkamp’s death he reportedly had
seven outstanding firearm licence applications.

One was for same type of assault rifle used in the recent Sandy Hook school massacre in the US.

Pistorius, who was charged with
premeditated murder at a court appearance on Friday, spent the weekend
in a police cell ahead of a second hearing planned for tomorrow at which
his lawyers are expected to ask for bail.

Police say they will oppose the request.

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